eavesdrop Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb listen without the speaker's knowledge
    listen in.
    • the jealous man was eavesdropping on his wife's conversations

WordNet

Eaves"drop` intransitive verb
Etymology
Eaves + drop.
Definitions
  1. To stand under the eaves, near a window or at the door, of a house, to listen and learn what is said within doors; hence, to listen secretly to what is said in private.
    To eavesdrop in disguises. Milton.
Eaves"drop` noun
Definitions
  1. The water which falls in drops from the eaves of a house.

Webster 1913